Casino spending is slowing down in New England

The amount of money Massachusetts residents spend at the Connecticut casinos dropped for the second year in a row, according to a UMass Dartmouth report.

Jon Chesto

The amount of money that Massachusetts gamblers spent at the two Connecticut casinos dropped for the second year in a row, a sign that the gambling industry hasn’t been immune to the region’s overall economic slowdown.

The latest gambling report from Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, shows a drop in overall gambling revenues at the two big casinos in Connecticut and one of the two gambling facilities in Rhode Island.

The release today of Barrow’s annual report comes only days after a plan for casinos in Massachusetts was dealt a crushing blow on Beacon Hill. The House of Representatives – under the leadership of House Speaker Sal DiMasi, a determined casino foe – voted on Thursday to shelve Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to allow up to three casinos in the state.

Barrow’s report also comes days after the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe unveiled more details of its plans for a resort-style casino, with a hotel and golf course, in Middleboro. The tribe is seeking federal approval to put land in Middleboro into trust as a reservation, but it still will need the Legislature’s approval of casino gambling to open a full-scale casino there.

Barrow’s report suggests that the recent slowdown in consumer spending seems to be taking its toll at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut and Newport Grand in Newport, R.I.

The estimated amount of money that Massachusetts residents collectively spent at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun fell by 3.4 percent to $846 million in 2007 – the second year in a row that Bay State residents spent less money at the two casinos.

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun saw declines in slot machine revenue of 4.1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, last year, according to figures tracked by the state of Connecticut.

Barrow, in his report, estimates that total gambling and nongaming revenue fell 2.8 percent at Foxwoods and 3.3 percent at Mohegan Sun. The report estimates that each casino generated about $1.5 billion in total revenue last year.

The report says the declines in overall spending at the Connecticut casinos partially could be due to rising gasoline prices and other concerns that are curbing consumer spending, as well as construction at Foxwoods, in particular.

Twin River in Lincoln, R.I., meanwhile, appears to be benefiting from its $220 million expansion last year, when its owners finished converting the former Lincoln Park dog track and slot-machine hall into a more upscale gambling and entertainment destination.

Total estimated revenues at Twin River, excluding those from bets on live and simulcast races, rose by an estimated 17 percent to about $420 million last year because of the expansion, although the amount of money spent per slot machine decreased slightly, according to the UMass-Dartmouth report.

Estimated spending at Twin River by Bay State residents rose by about 22 percent over the past year to $179 million, according to the report.